FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech men's basketball team looks to rebound from a tough loss on Saturday when they host Siena Heights on Wednesday before traveling to Rochester on Monday in a rematch from earlier in the season.
 
#28, receiving 17 votes, Indiana Tech (15-7, 11-4 WHAC)
 
Wednesday, Jan. 27, 8 p.m. vs. Siena Heights (5-13, 5-9 WHAC) Fort Wayne, Indiana (Schaefer Center) Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Game
Monday, Feb. 1, 7 p.m. at (RV) Rochester (19-3) Rochester Hills, Michigan (Rochester High School)
 
Following the Warriors: Live stats and video will be available for Wednesday's game against Siena Heights via Stretch's Internet Game Central, http://portal.stretchinternet.com/indianatech/. You can also follow @INTechMBB and @INTechWarriors on Twitter to stay up to date on the action.
 
Last Time Out: The Warriors had top-ranked and conference leading Davenport on the ropes on Saturday, but couldn't bring home the win as they lost 71-68. Miles Robinson led all scorers with a career-high 30 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. He also had a career-high five steals to go along with four assists. Dominique Walls added 16 points and 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season while picking up three blocks and a trio of assists. Lavonte Davis chipped in six points and four rebounds, Milos Milidragovic added five points and four boards while Tanner Watkins also had five points. Jaelan Manson had three points and four assists off the bench.
 
Head Coach John Peckinpaugh: Now in his second season at the helm for the Orange and Black, as well as his second stint with the program, head coach John Peckinpaugh went 11-19 in his first season as the head man for the Warriors. Peckinpaugh returned to Indiana Tech after serving as an assistant for the Warriors during the 2012-2013 season, where he served as the recruiting coordinator He was instrumental in recruiting all of the returning Tech players for the 2014-2015 season during this time. In between stints with Tech, the Muncie, Indiana native served as a graduate assistant for his alma mater, Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne (IPFW) during the 2013-14 year. While with the Mastodons, he was part of a coaching staff that helped the team achieve its most successful season in program history with a 25-11 record and rising to as high as 19^th in the NCAA Division I Mid-Major poll. IPFW made it all the way to the Summit League Tournament Championship game, losing to North Dakota State, who would go on to upset fifth-seeded Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Mastodons would make the postseason for the first-time ever as a Division I program that season as well when they hosted Akron in the College Insider.com Tournament and defeated the Zips, 97-91.
 
Scouting the Opposition: Siena Heights – The Saints have split their last eight games, most recently winning at Concordia on Saturday, 75-60. George Goodman leads the team in scoring (15.0 ppg) and assists (3.6 asp) while shooting 34.4% from the three-point line. Jerrell Martin chips in 8.6 points a night and is pulling down a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game.
 
Rochester – The Crimson and White Warriors are ranked 35^th in the nation and are receiving five votes in the latest NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll, and will play Viterbo and College of the Ozarks this weekend at Indiana University Northwest before hosting the Orange and Black on Monday. Rochester has won three games in a row and is led by Angelo Griffis, who leads the team in scoring (17.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpb) while shooting 49.7% from the field. Justin Nafso is hitting 45.3% of his shots from behind the arc and is chipping in 12.5 points a night while dishing out a team-best 4.5 assists per contest.
 
Series History: Siena Heights – The Warriors are 17-4 against the Saints since the 2005-06 campaign and won the previous meeting this season in Adrian, 78-72. Jaelan Manson scored a career-high 24 points while Miles Robinson poured in 22 points and dishing out eight assists. Tanner Watkins added 13 points while Lavonte Davis chipped in nine points, seven rebounds and a career-high six blocks. Dominique Walls grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds while blocking three shots.
 
Rochester – Tech is 0-1 all-time against the Crimson and White Warriors, falling 67-64 back on Nov. 29 when Rochester was 7-0 and one of the hottest teams in the country. Dominique Walls led the way for the Orange and Black with a game-high 20 points while setting career-highs in rebounds (13) and blocks (five) and picking up two steals. Miles Robinson added 12 points and six rebounds while Lavonte Davis chipped in 11 points, seven boards and two blocks.
 
Lacing up for Cancer: Tech will be collecting donations at Wednesday night's game for the Coaches vs. Cancer program, a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Coaches will also be donning suits and sneakers during the game. For more information, click here.
 
Twice as Nice: Miles Robinson was named the WHAC Player of the Week for the second week in a row on Jan. 25 after averaging 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, five assists and three steals against Lourdes and Davenport. Against the top-ranked Panthers he set career highs in points (30) rebounds (12) and steals (5) while getting his second double-double of the season. The Grand Rapids native scored 13 points against the Gray Wolves while collecting six assists and five rebounds.
 
Stepping out of Conference: The last time the Warriors played a nonconference game this late in the season came back on Feb. 12, 2009, when Tech defeated Holy Cross College, 118-62.
 
Back in the Rankings: For the first time since Jan. 8, 2013, Tech was ranked in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll as they garnered the number 20 spot with 113 votes in the third week of the regular season poll on Jan. 5. The Warriors received 31 votes (29^th overall) in this week's rankings. The Orange and Black first made an appearance this season back on Dec. 8 when they garnered three votes.
 
Back at It: Junior forward Lavonte Davis return from injury has been huge for the Warriors this season and the Ypsilanti, Michigan native has been strong all year. He is tied for first on the team in blocks (2.2 bpg), second in rebounding (6.1 rpg) and third in scoring (10.3 ppg). He's been efficient when the ball is in his hands, hitting 56.1% of his shots while starting all 22 games and logging 31 minutes a night.
 
Mr. Double-Double: Dominique Walls has a knack for reaching the double digit plateau in both scoring and rebounding and that combination has gotten him nine double-doubles on the year, the most in the WHAC and is tied for 10^th nationally. He is second on the team in scoring at 14.2 ppg while shooting 60.1% from the field, the second best mark in the conference while ranking 12^th nationally. On the glass, he is pulling down 8.4 rebounds a night and has recorded 10-plus rebounds in 10 games this season.
 
Locking it Down: Tech is holding its opponents to just 66 points per game this year, the fifth best mark in the land while holding its opponents to just 40.2% shooting, placing the Warriors in 11^th. Their three-point defense is just at stingy, limiting foes to 31.7% from downtown, placing them in a tie for 19^th in NAIA Division II.
 
Block Party: The Warriors imitating frontline duo of Dominique Walls and Lavonte Davis has been swatting opponent shots all season long and the duo rank among the best in the country while as a team Tech is first in total blocks (134) and second in blocks per game (6.1). Both have recorded 50 blocks on the year, ranking in a tie for fifth while they are tied for ninth in blocks per game (2.3).
 
Mr. Everything: Miles Robinson has been among the most consistent players for the Warriors this year and his name appears everywhere on the box score. The Grand Rapids, Michigan native has scored in double digits in all but one game this season and he leads the team in scoring (19.7 ppg) and assists (3.2 apg) while hitting 43.0% of his shots, 40.0% of his three-point attempts and pulling down 5.5 rebounds per game. He is a dead-eye shooter at the charity stripe, hitting 91.7% of his attempts, the third best mark in the nation. He also ranks 16^th in made three-pointers (62), 20^th in total scoring (443) 26^th in points per game and 28^th in three-point field goals made per game (2.8).
 
Cleaning up on the Glass: Dominique Walls has been a certified window cleaner for the Warriors this season, averaging a team-best 8.4 rebounds per game, putting him 35^th in the nation. His 2.8 offensive rebounds per game places him 28^th in the country and he has had 10 games of double-digit rebounding.
 
This and That: Tech tied its season-high in three-point field goal attempts against Davenport with 30…the Warriors limited Lourdes to just 46 points, the fewest the team has given up all year...Miles Robinson set career-highs in scoring (30), made field goals (12), field goal attempts (26), three-point attempts (13), rebounds (12), and steals (five) against the Panthers…the Warriors have only had three players foul out this season.
 
Tough Sledding: The Warriors have faced off with seven teams that were ranked or receiving votes in any of the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll: Davenport (#3 and #1), Saint Francis (#4), Cornerstone (#7), IU East (#10), Aquinas (#24), and Grace (RV). Tech still has (RV) Rochester (Feb. 1), No. 22 Aquinas (Feb. 6) and No. 9 Cornerstone (Feb. 17) remaining on their schedule.
 
Getting to Know One Another: Peckinpaugh hit the recruiting trail hard in his first true offseason and went to great distances to find his current crop of players. Tech has student-athletes from six different states: Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio, and three countries: Australia, Serbia and the United States. Ohio tops the list with five players hailing from the Buckeye State, while Indiana is next with four. Michigan and Florida have contributed two apiece while Illinois and Kentucky each have one.
 
Poll Thoughts: Indiana Tech was picked to finish in a tie for seventh the WHAC Coaches' Preseason Poll. Tech picked up 62 votes to tie with Michigan-Dearborn. The Warriors finished 11-19 last year with an 8-14 mark in conference play.
 
Lots of New Faces: While the Warriors returned eight players from last year's squad, that didn't stop Peckinpaugh from hitting the recruiting trail hard as he added five freshman and four transfers to the mix. Among the transfers, junior Jantzen Goodwin (Vincennes University), senior Jaelan Manson (Vincennes University) and senior Dominique Walls (Ashford University) will all look to make an immediate impact for Tech, while junior Edmond Early, Jr. (Owens Community College) will redshirt this season.